1. Roald Dahl

2. “The Landlady”
By Roald Dahl

3. dithering porter dame briskly emanate swanky trifle façades blemish
Unfamiliar Words Copy the words from this slide leaving 1-2 lines between each
dithering
dame
emanate
trifle
blemish
porter
briskly
swanky
façades
rapacious
kippers

4. A mark, such as a pimple or scar Stylish Flow out
Match and copy the definitions below with the words from the previous slide. Try and do this without a dictionary; look at what sentences they are in to give you clues about their meaning.
An older woman
A mark, such as a pimple or scar
Stylish
Flow out
Front panels of a house
To move quickly and sharply
A person hired to carry baggage
Greedy
Smoked fish
A small amount
To be nervously uncertain in acting or doing

5. Comprehension Questions: Copy and answer
How old is Billy Weaver?
What is the name of the hotel that the porter directs him to?
What country is the story set in?
Approximately how old is the landlady?
What are the names of the two other guests?

6. Prior Knowledge: copy the following definition.
Cyanide: a poison that tastes like bitter almonds
Why would knowing THIS detail affect your reading of the last page of the story?
We realise that Billy’s tea probably tastes like almonds because the landlady has poisoned it.

7. Look at the passage “And now a queer thing…reaching for the bell (pp
What words in the passage tell us that Billy is being made to do something?
holding
compelling
forcing
Which actions did Billy carry out as if commanded by an invisible force?
moving from the window to the door
climbing the stairs
reaching for the bell

8. The feeling that something beyond his control is happening continues when we discover that the landlady seems to have been expecting him, though this might seem impossible.

9. What reasons can you think of for this?
Read the passage “He pressed the bell…I was beginning to get worried” (pp )
Make a list of the things that seemed to indicate that Billy was expected in the house.
What reasons can you think of for this?
She opened the door at once; the landlady had put a hot water bottle in the bed; the bed had been turned down, ready for someone to get in.
The landlady was expecting Billy (is she magical?); someone told her; she was hoping for a guest but not expecting anyone in particular.

10. Read the passage “That parrot…Will you have another cup of tea. ” (pp
What happened to the animals?
They died and have been stuffed.
2. What did 'she' (the landlady) do with them?
She has preserved them.

11. 3. What was Billy's reaction when he heard what she had done?
He was impressed by her skill (he looks at her with “deep admiration” and thinks it would have been “awfully difficult”).
4. How many animals are mentioned?
Only two – the parrot and the dachshund.

12. 5. When the landlady says "I stuff all my pets" does the word 'all' equate to the number in the answer to question 4? What is implied?
“All” refers to the pets, rather than the animals. It is implied that the landlady stuffs things other than her animals.

13. There are two ways that the landlady might have preserved her 'pets' after they died. One is known as 'taxidermy’ and the other is ‘embalming’.

14. Copy the following definitions:
Taxidermy: the art of preparing and preserving the skins of animals and of stuffing and mounting them in lifelike form.
Embalming: preserving a dead body from decay by the use of aromatic herbs
Which methods would the landlady use for all her different “pets”?

15. Character study – the landlady
In groups of 3, complete the following activities of A3 paper:
Draw a picture of the landlady.
List the aspects of the landlady’s appearance and voice that make her seem trustworthy.
List the aspects of the landlady’s behaviour that make her seem odd.
List three things the landlady says that seem frightening, and explain why they her words are so unsettling.